Stock Exchanges And Employees

The Exchange feels strongly that the owner of common stock must have the right to vote in the affairs of his company-so strongly, in fact, that since 1926 the Exchange has refused to list nonvoting stock. The Exchange expects, too, that the owner of common stock in listed companies shall have the right to vote in reasonable proportion to the ownership interest represented by his stock.

This policy was recently strengthened when solicitation of proxies was made a prerequisite to listing. The New York Stock Exchange is the only securities market place in the world to have this requirement. Ninety-five per cent of all listed companies now solicit proxies from their stockholders so they can freely exercise their vote without having to come personally to annual meetings or other meetings called to consider matters of importance to the shareowners.

If a listed company wants to list additional shares of an issue already listed, or a new issue, it must get Exchange authorization, and in certain cases also obtain stockholder approval. All approved listing applications are made public promptly by the Exchange. A company not only must meet certain standards to be listed but also must meet minimum qualifications to maintain its listing.

To understand the Exchange's own controls, it might be well to go back to a portion of the original agreement written in 1792: "The Exchange's object shall be to maintain high standards of commercial honor and integrity among members; and to promote and inculcate just and equitable principles of trade and business." No other business has a stricter code of conduct.